Create a customized start page including your favorite websites, RSS feeds, and social networking sites with Start.me. Choose from over 20 widgets such as bookmarks, weather, calculators, or currency converters to personalize content. Drag and drop widgets to any area on your screen. Change backgrounds using images provided or one you upload, or personalize using other options under settings. All saved information is cloud-based, so it is available from any device where you log into your account. Create multiple pages for different needs such as work, home, hobbies, etc. Add the bookmarklet to your browser to add items easily to your start page at any time. The introduction video is hosted on YouTube. If YouTube is blocked at your school, view the intro video at home to learn more!

In the Classroom

Create a classroom Start.me with frequently used websites and resources for classroom computers. Add pages for specific subjects or topics such as math and science, or for curriculum topics like explorers. If you work with students in several different grade levels or subjects, Start.me is the perfect organization tool for your online resources. Share login information with students for access at home and school. Students working on a group project could put the resources they find on Start.me so everyone in the group can access them. Encourage your gifted students to use this tool to curate and collect resources for extensions of the curriculum beyond the classroom, such as articles and connections with real world applications of science or resources about current events. World language teachers can collect a home page filled with cultural sites and publications in the new language so students can immerse themselves.

See fascinating questions answered via videos and other media. Find questions in several categories about History, Science, Religion & Ethics, WebWise, Nature, Arts, Food, and Consumer. Of special interest is the History of World War I. Find videos and slideshows on topics like medicine and trench warfare during the war. There is a comprehensive, interactive section. Find just about anything you want to know about World War I in this iWonder section. Explore all of the diverse topics to learn deeply.

In the Classroom

Use iWonder to help build students' background knowledge or spark interest in many topics. Share the site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Put a bookmark for this site on class computers for students to investigate at a learning station or when they finish other work early. If teaching World War I, use the interactives in that section as student learning stations, but be sure to load them ahead of time since the buffering process takes some time. An alternative is to assign the interactives for students to complete at home and discuss the next day in class (a flipped classroom idea). Teachers of gifted can offer iWonder explorations to inspire individual projects from middle elementary and up.

The Free Dictionary is much more than a dictionary; it also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedias, a literature reference library, and lots more! Browse the home page to find Word of the Day, Article of the Day, In the News, Quotations, Today's Birthday and Holiday, and Hangman. Choose the Spelling Bee to test spelling skills in levels. Your ESL/ELL students can discover and "play" with English words using this site. Browse to find dictionaries for many other languages and specialized needs such as medical and legal dictionaries.

In the Classroom

Set this site as the home page on classroom computers for students to read and find interesting articles and games. Create an account to customize the page to display information to suit class needs. Use information found on this site for quotes, interesting trivia, and much more. Display on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) and discuss articles and information with your class.

What just happened here? The New York Times offers hundreds of user-submitted photographs from all over the world, each capturing "a moment in time" on a Sunday in May, 2010. Search by theme, and then give the virtual globe a spin to select a location from which to view your moment in time. Repeat. You won't want to stop. See the world in images from all over the world, all on the same day.

In the Classroom

Each of the "moment in time" photographs provides a wonderful thinking/writing/discussion prompt. What Just Happened Here? If it happened somewhere far away from me, how is it different from what happens in my backyard? What do I have in common with what is pictured? What don't I understand? Use this site to generate ideas for writing, for art, for debate. Use this as an avenue to open discussion about different cultures. Imagine a "moment in time" from another date, such as June 6, 1944, Sept 11, 2001, or an ordinary day in 2014. Challenge students to imagine and create their own moments in time to share.

Visually compare current data about cities all around the world. Choose three cities at a time to access information such as work, movement (including transportation), systems, and people. View the findings of all three cities side by side. After viewing introductory maps and a summary of trends about any specific city, click on specific information you need. The interactive and manipulable maps change as each different theme about the city comes up. You can easily and quickly compare different parts of the population, weather details, transportation facts, historical boundaries, parks, and many other themes. Creators of the site have the goal of adding data about more cities around the world and welcome outside additions to the fact bank.

In the Classroom

Share this tool and compare locations on your interactive whiteboard or projector as you study geography, economics, or government. Ask students what items are important to look at in a city where they plan to live. Then ask them the same thing about a city where they plan to vacation. Have students make online "tours" to compare their choice of three cities using Stoodle reviewed here. Share cities as part of a world language class to discuss the economic and statistical differences in different cultures. Use data from this site in math classes for students to compare, contrast, and manipulate real world data.

Learn fascinating information in video format on a plethora of different topics. As you click through, click FREE at the top of each category to se only the free offerings. Choose from categories such as Game On, Curious 52, Art and Photo, Smarty Pants, Fit and Active, and Health and Beauty. There is so much more: Learn to Code, Great Outdoors, Popular, Fancy Pants, Around the House, Staff Picks, Pocket Perfect, Language, Crafting, Green Thumb, Software, Tasty Treats, Song and Dance, Business Savvy, and Party Time. Each video has a clickable "timeline" under it where you can read about the video, find lessons, make comments, find related topics, and see assignments. Teach others your skill or talent. Send Curious cards to teachers or others to show what you know. Be aware, not all of the video clips are free.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Check out the offerings for videos that support or extend your curriculum. Have your students find a lesson to learn or even a lesson to teach. Be sure to show them where to click "free" to narrow the listings. After previewing Curious on an interactive whiteboard or projector, choose a video to evaluate and gather the important parts of the information. Small groups could each choose a different video. Have students create their own lessons in content areas using these as a model. As you teach about informational text, this is the perfect example of digital writing to convey information. Suggest this site at a parent night to help keep everyone lifetime learners. Be sure to post a link on your website for parents and students to access at home.

What is Milq? This tool is like the Pinterest for videos, music, and information. This user-generated network can curate and organize "channels of culture" on the Internet. Organize content by specific topics. Organize material into collections called "beads." You create a specific bead by asking a general question such as "How to" or a topic such as "Powerful Poems." There are also beads for music of certain decades. Other Milq members contribute to these beads by adding video or audio clips. Star beads that you like and add them to collections. Add video and audio clips to beads that you find. Many of the videos are from YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube, but Milq will not allow you to save or share such downloads. Note: Be sure to view specific collections in advance before sharing with students. Even though offensive content was not found in the public gallery, that gallery is unmoderated.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this resource to collect or add specific video and audio content for any subject matter that can be shared in class. Use the existing beads to get a feel for a certain time period. (Our review team couldn't help listening to 80's music videos and reminiscing.) Since the tool is completely public, this tool is probably best used via a teacher-controlled account or by mature students with parent permission. Develop specific questions to answer about the time period as they are a time capsule of history. In a music or art class, view various beads about music genres to compare and contrast. Look at cultural/social influences on the music as well as the influence of the music on culture. In world language classes, you can collect a bead of videos for students to experience the pop culture of another land. If you search "education," you will find collections of videos about educational change and more. Use Milq to collect thought-provoking videos to use in professional development or to collect videos to support curriculum (and collaborate with other teachers on these collections).

Create an integrated video presentation or screencast using Movenote. Add content from Google Drive, a computer, or just about any device. Movenote will work with nearly any format (doc, PDF, images, and even video). Uploading your documents or video creates the slides, and you can start recording. Simply swipe to synchronize the slides to the video. Registration requires your name and email address. You can register with your Google account. Share the Movenote with a URL. Recording requires Shockwave and the approval to access your device's sound and camera. The free version of Movenote will only store your video for two days.

In the Classroom

Encourage your students to use this tool for projects and reports. Use this tool for analysis of a lab report, the culminating project for literature circles, book reviews, explaining a math problem, or a digital portfolio for artwork or music. Have students record their authentic language (reading a Spanish or French paragraph or ESL/ELLs reading English) to listen to their pronunciation. Students can take pictures on a field trip and share them via Movenote to show their parents what they learned. Students could illustrate a short story they wrote, using the audio to record the story as the illustrations slide past. Use this program when you have to be away from the classroom instead of writing out all the directions for a sub. Use it for absent students to stay on top of what has been discussed, assigned, or completed in class. Use it to explain how to solve a math problem and post it on the class website for students to refer to at home. Use it as a screencast for giving feedback for student writing. This tool would be useful for blended or flipped learning, giving students time to absorb information about content, leaving class time for individualized learning.

Are you looking for other educators to follow on Twitter? Check out this lengthy list of educator Twitter handles arranged by subject. The easiest way to view the full document is to click the link located under the heading "A Twitter Win." This link leads to a Google document with headings for all content areas as well as Ed Tech, Counselors, Administrators, and more. Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the document to view all categories. Add your own Twitter handle in the appropriate category for inclusion on this document.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Explore the site to discover and follow educators who match your interests and needs. Read the Tweets about what is happening in other classrooms to gain some fresh, new ideas. Looking for more ways to use Twitter in the classroom? If you are the only person in your building who teaches a particular subject, such as gifted or learning support, this list can help you find like minds to share ideas or to set up collaborations between your students. Read more about Twitter at TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers page.

Experience a worldwide, virtual, culture exchange in November, 2014. Adventure '14 is an opportunity to work with students from another culture. The only equipment needed is a computer, webcam, reasonable Internet connection, and a projector. Signing up indicates an interest, not a commitment. Sign up requirements: contact information about the school or group, age range, and website address. Also, indicate if there is an interest in pairing up with others by subject, language, or interests. Although there are places to fill in Twitter account information, having a Twitter account is not required. Get to know about people in another culture, embrace the opportunity to work together on a global project, and create a website together (optional).

In the Classroom

Consider the many ways your class could collaborate. Science students can collaborate on labs, history students on research, and math students can solve some of the world's most difficult equations together. ESL/ELL students might collaborate with students who want to know about their experiences where one does not speak the language.

Partner teachers can choose a collaborative platform students can use to brainstorm ideas they have about the other country and culture before they meet. Use a projector and Lino, reviewed here, (no membership required) to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge about the culture with whom they will be working. Once the project is underway, go back to Lino occasionally, and add what they learned and whether it coincides with the students' original ideas. Ask the partner class if they will fill in the areas and ideas missed on your Lino. Also, consider asking the partner school to blog together. It is amazing the improvement you will see in student writing when they know they have an authentic audience! If you never blogged before, you might want to check out TeachersFirst Blog Basics for the Classroom. Use the blogs as a way to discuss topics related to both culture AND your curriculum: environmental topics, different types of government, or simply day to day life.

Create one frame cartoons or entire comic books -- easily! Start by uploading a funny picture and create a comic from that. You can create your comics anywhere from any device and access them from the same device or any other. The drag and drop interface ensures ease of creation. Choose from a variety of options for characters, layout options, backgrounds, props, captions, and special effects. Choose options to use and drag and drop them onto the comic page. Simply undo or delete objects, move objects backward, forward, add text captions, and zoom in and out of the page. Register with the site (email required) to save, share, and print out creations. You can create a single page comic or full book length comics. You can download as a pdf or even share as an ebook! Some of the instruction videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid reviewed here to download the videos from YouTube. Mobile apps are available, including "lite" (free) versions.

In the Classroom

In classes with younger students, use a whole class account under teacher control. In a BYOD classroom, let students set up their own accounts and use the app versions. When studying characterization, create a dialog to show (not tell) about a character. Use the dialog box (bubbles) to explain the sequence of a story, a science concept, or school news! Create a political cartoon. Why not use the comic strips for conflict resolution or other guidance issues (such as bullying). Emotional support and autistic support teachers can work with students to create strips about appropriate interpersonal responses and/or feelings. Sometimes it is easier for students to write it down (or create pictures) than use the actual words. World language and ESL/ELL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to traditional written assessments. Let your creative (or gifted) students take the comics even further by making them into entire books!

Discover and curate personalized news stories using Trove. Browse through ready-made Troves that may be of interest, and "follow" them. Create an account using your email or social network login. Create and curate your own Trove by following the instructions on the site. This tool will work on iOs devices or on the web. At this time there is no Android app available.

In the Classroom

Use Trove to create student-navigated lessons or review materials for any topic. Create a whole class Trove account to follow Troves safely under teacher supervision. Allow students to set up their own accounts if over 13 and permitted under school policies. Have students work together in groups to create their Trove on current articles they can use in a research project. Have student groups create Troves of articles in the news related to the curriculum topic you are studying. For example, collect articles about disappearing habitats, design concepts that use new engineering materials, food and religion in a certain culture, or climate change and weather. Demonstrate a new math concept using articles found on the Internet. Create a class study guide for students to access before the big science test! Include Trove as part of your current events lessons and allow students to explore articles demonstrating different points of view. Use Trove as a professional resource for following current topics in education such as standardized testing or Common Core Standards. Speaking of Common Core, the articles collected in Trove could serve as practice with informational texts. Library/media specialists can collect Troves to teach students about using media in research projects.

Create your own GeoGuessr game using five Google Map street view locations. NO membership is required! These challenges show actual views of mystery locations for people to guess where they are. (See this review of GeoGuessr to see how the challenges work.) Move the person to the desired map location to set a location for each round. When complete, GeoSettr generates a URL that will take people to your unique GeoGuessr page.

In the Classroom

Make geography come to life by gamifying it! Create (or have students create) landform games (what do these locations have in common), culture games, travel collections, etc. Use this tool to explore world cultures (or languages), geography, historical locations, famous battle locations, and more. Demonstrate how to create a game, then have students create and play games of their own. Pair this activity with What Was There, reviewed here, and have students use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare and contrast changes over time.

Audio Expert is a free and simple online audio editor, file converter, and sound recorder. This tool has all of the standard functionality of an audio editor. It provides students and teachers with an easy way to create a podcast or even a ringtone for a cell phone. The Audio Expert can also be used as a powerful audio file converter that will allow you to modify your file format, bit rate, and frequency. If your computer is equipped with a camera and microphone, you can use Audio Expert to record your own sounds. You can download completed files.

In the Classroom

Use Audio Expert in early grades to promote literacy by recording your students and creating an audio portfolio record of their reading. Use this tool with ESL/ELL students to practice fluency and hearing themselves speak. Use Audio Expert to record parents, principals, lunch ladies, librarians, relatives, and bus drivers all telling your favorite class story. During writing time, allow students freedom from the pencil to express their true creative voices. Also dabble into digital storytelling to create a lesson in adding voice, emotion, and characterization. Record audio interviews at a local nursing home, fire stations, or museums to recollect times such as wars, the Great Depression, Civil Rights Movements, or as a primary source at memorable events. Record world language conversations as a student project. Make music class or the school band a gold recording!

Create, share, and explore learning lists of web-based resources with LessonPaths (formerly MentorMobEDU). Similar to Pinterest, but in a slide show format. This site shows thumbnails of each resource. LessonPaths allows you to view and create "playlists." Browse through playlists by subject or keyword. Each playlist has links to online content correlated to the topics. As you browse through each playlist, choose Next to view an overview of each link. At the left side, roll over the list of steps to find out what to do at each stop on the playlist. Click within that link to go to the web content displayed. When ready, create an account and begin to create your own playlists.

In the Classroom

Browse to find ready-made activities for classroom use. Create your own playlists for organizing classroom resources found on the web along with tasks to do at each place. Create playlists for students to view and/or add to as a whole class activity. Some ideas include things that use energy, food groups, or groups of items for primary level vocabulary/practice (clothing items, farm animals, clock faces for telling time, etc.). In lower grades, create very simple sequences of activities for students to try from a class computer center or at home. Since your directions will require reading, keep it very simple! In higher grades, make playlists for different subjects or units where you collect videos, images, classroom blogs and websites, etc. Share your playlists with students and parents by putting the link on your class website. Have them work through the tasks at their own pace. Challenge your older students to create their own playlists with thought-provoking questions as a product from a research project. For example, they can compile information about a disease and how it is transmitted, asking questions at each resource. (What a great way for them to read informational text and then generate questions that go further!) Teachers of Gifted or regular ed teachers trying to design independent tasks for gifted students to do will love the flexibility of the playlist format.

Learn, create, and connect with CraftArtEdu's free online "classes" on video. This colorful site offers free online "classes" on countless art and crafts topics. Topics range from wrapping wire loops to fan fold blends to basic embroidery and much more. Join a class and receive step by step instruction. Find the free class section, and start your new learning adventure. Develop new talents and skills. Some of the videos are not in English, so preview (unless you are looking for language learning!). Don't miss the digital art tutorials about Photoshop!This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Find projects for holidays or that tie in with current units of study on time periods in history, different cultures, or literature being read in class. In world language classes, share one of the videos in French or German and challenge students to follow along with the directions. Then have them try to make their own how-to videos to practice new vocabulary. Use these videos as examples of digital writing for information and have student groups create one of their own. Share this site with your "crafty" students for indoor recess or use the activities in family and consumer science. Share this link on your class website for students to find crafty ways to share knowledge in unusual displays. Some of the videos might even offer ideas they could use as science fair projects testing the strength of different materials.

4 Free Photos offers public domain and free stock images. Preview and download the photos at no cost. Use the search feature to find the image you are looking for. The images on this site are contributed by the photographers for open sharing under Creative Commons. Be aware, there are photos for sale (clearly labeled). Some of the links for "More Free Photos" and other ads take you to outside sites. You may want to advise students to avoid those links. Note that all uses of the photos are supposed to be accompanied by the link to the license (available on each photo's display page).This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Starting a lesson on copyright? With so much social media and access to almost anything on the web, it is important to teach students about copyright and about owner's rights. Use this site to search for photos for presentations, photos, projects, or research. For your ESL/ELL students or speech/language, use the images for them to create their own visual dictionary. World language teachers can also challenge students to use images to illustrate vocabulary or accompany writing. Use images for writing prompts or even to create descriptive sentences. Have one student describe the image as another sketches the image. Now compare the described image to the real image. To find more Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Compfight, reviewed here or PhotoPin, reviewed here.

Dictionarist is an online talking dictionary. Type any word into the search box. See a definition and click the icon to hear the pronunciation and view a translation into several languages. Click on a country flag at the top of the page to begin with a foreign word to hear the pronunciation and view the translation into different languages, including English. If desired, save preferences for future visits or use the bookmarklets to add Dictionarist to your search provider or Google Toolbar. Be aware: This dictionary includes many words that are not appropriate for the classroom, as it is not abridged for students. Talk about ethical behavior and observe less mature students' searches .This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Save Dictionarist or add the bookmarklet to your computer for use anytime foreign translations might be needed or for correct pronunciation of difficult words. Dictionarist may be especially useful in ESL/ELL classrooms as an online tool for definitions and pronunciations of English terms. This site is very simple to use, even for younger students. Share this site on your class website for families to use to find definitions and pronunciations for difficult words.

This handy online tool makes any computer screen into a "teleprompter" (scrolling screen with the text YOU paste in). No membership or login is required. Just open the site and copy/paste in the text from a word doc (or type it in). Note: there is no way to SAVE it on the site. We recommend keeping your text ready to copy/paste and saved in another document. Set the font size and screen size to large or small. When you are ready to "speak," click the "start prompter" button. Use speed controls at the top of the screen to speed up or slow down your scrolling text. If you are fortunate enough to have a rear projection screen, the text can even be reversed by turning mirroring on. Other options allow for viewing white text on black or black text on a white background.

In the Classroom

Make a sample dialog for students to recite as you project it in a foreign language or ESL/ELL class. Be sure to write in script format so they know who is speaking! Or share this tool with students who need help getting their nose out of their notes when giving speeches or recording videos. They can run it on a laptop only they can see and look out at the audience past the prompter. The comfort of having their text right there will ease many butterflies. Use this site to feed information used in group or individual presentations to the class. Set this up on another computer when recording video and audio recordings. Why use this tool? Information fed through the prompter can be read at a steady and consistent pace. Use this site with emergent readers to practice basic reading fluency. Make oral reading fluency practice more engaging by having students pretend they are newscasters. If you advise the school announcement crew, try this handy tool to make them sound and look more professional. Share this link on your class website for young readers to use to practice reading skills at home or for older students to use to practice building confidence in their speeches.

Become an expert at Roman Numerals! Practice with a Roman numeral converter, chart, videos, games, quizzes, and interesting facts! Enter any number into the numeral converter to view the Roman Numeral. Explore one of several charts with numerals from 1-10 on up to 1-1000. Watch a video explanation about how to create numbers using the Roman number system. Other informative portions of this site include short explanations of the origins of Roman Numerals and four rules for understanding how to use Roman Numerals. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid reviewed here to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

Bookmark and save this site to include with your unit on Roman Numerals, during study of the Roman Empire, or in Latin class. Be sure to share a link on your class website for students to review at home. Share this site as a way to review before tests. Have students upload a photo of a math problem solved using Roman Numerals they have taken and add voice bubbles to explain what they learned using a tool such as Superlame, reviewed here. Have student collect media (videos and more) demonstrating Roman Numerals found in real world situations from multiple online sources to show their research findings using a tool such as Dragontape, reviewed here.